Tiger Woods hits a shot out of the fairway on the first hole during the first round of the 2014 PGA Championship. Woods finished with a 3-over 74 at Valhalla. / Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

While his troublesome back was a bit stiff, his game, on the other hand, was far from being in good health in Thursday's first round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.

Just four days removed from being forced to withdraw in the final round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational when he dislodged something in his back after landing on his right leg with a thud in a bunker, Woods never found a comfort level on the massive ballpark here despite optimal scoring conditions featuring cloud cover, moderate temperatures and little wind.

He signed for a 3-over-par 74 and is nine behind clubhouse leaders Lee Westwood and Kevin Chappell.

"The man looks like he needs to play some golf," said Padraig Harrington, who was grouped with Woods and Phil Mickelson. "He looked kind of raw."

Woods wouldn't disagree.

On his first hole, his tee shot found a bad lie in the rough. On his second hole his tee shot found a quirky lie just short of a bunker. On his third hole, his iron from the fairway came up 20 yards short.

After he made the turn he made bogeys on his first two holes, driving his first tee shot 40 yards left of the fairway and his second tee shot into a hazard.

In all he hit just 10 of 18 greens and 8 of 14 fairways. He needed 30 putts.

"It wasn't very good," Woods said after his round. "A lot of bad shots and I never got a putt to the hole. I hit all my lines but just for some reason I thought they were going to be a little bit quicker, and I didn't make the adjustment well enough. I had plenty of looks to turn my round around and then post something even par, even under par."

When he was asked if his poor play was the result of limited practice and far too few competitive rounds, Woods shrugged.

"Well, it is what it is," he said. "I have the same opportunity as everybody else and just didn't get it done. â?¦ I had my swing dialed in on the range. Unfortunately, I didn't carry it to the golf course."

Woods said his stiff back was a bit of an issue on the course but he said he's used to dealing with it. He did not go to the range following his round, opting instead to seek treatment and then rest "to make sure this thing is nice and loose for tomorrow."

Woods is now in jeopardy of missing the cut, which could end his season. Unless he plays and wins next week's Wyndham Championship, he will miss the FedExCup Playoffs. And if he is not one of Tom Watson's three captain's picks for the Ryder Cup, Woods possibly wouldn't play until October in Argentina in an unofficial team event.

"I have to get to under par by the end of tomorrow. Or end of my second round. If we get storms, it could be Saturday," Woods said. "If I get under par for two rounds that will be right in the ball game."

Westwood experienced few problems as he followed up a 63 in the last round at Bridgestone with his best round in his PGA Championship career.

"I think it probably clicked before then," Westwood said of his game, referring to Sunday's round. "I started to feel like my swing was coming around. I got Mike (Walker, his swing coach) the Monday before last week, and we did some work. That tends to be when I do my best work, on the range away from tournaments, and I started to hit it well."

Westwood, like Woods, is trying to make the Ryder Cup team. Westwood, a stalwart for Europe for years, can still qualify for the team with a good week.

"I'm still trying to qualify for the team to free up a pick for Paul (McGinley, Europe's captain)," Westwood said. "I don't want to rely on a pick. I always think that there comes a bit more pressure if you're a selection, as well, obviously, because you've got to try and sort of justify your pick almost. And I don't want to be in that position. I'd rather qualify for the team.

" â?¦ I've had chats with Paul and he said, 'You know, try and show some form.' I don't know whether he's just looking for a reason to pick me, but I've shot 63 last Sunday and I'm leading a major this week. So I'm ticking that box for him, and I think he probably looks back at my record and sees that I've played eight (Ryder Cups), so knows that I've got a fair amount of experience."